Pairing Protien with Pasta

Today on The Minimalist column of the New York Times, we were told that uncooked beans trump canned. I am personally not sold on this, although I usually agree with Mark. The problem with uncooked beans is that you have to make that time to make them ahead. With canned beans you can just open the can and presto, you've got your protein done. The recipe below contains chickpeas. Try cooking raw dry chickpeas and getting them to be the texture of canned ones. I dare you.

Pasta dressed with Tomatoes and Chickpeas

1/2 box of angel hair pasta
1/2 can of whole stewed tomatoes
2 garlic cloves sliced
1 carrot peeled and finely chopped
1 small bowl of shredded purple cabbage
Italian spices
Salt
Fresh crushed pepper
Olive oil

Begin by heating water. You can prepare vegetables while it is hitting a rolling boil. Open can of beans and dump salty water into the pot of pasta water. Return to a boil. Meanwhile, circle pan on medium high heat with olive oil. After about a minute add garlic and brown. Afterwards add carrot and cabbage; season pan with all spices to taste. Your pot of water should be back to a boil. Dump pasta in pot. Then make sure all flavors are distributed in pan by turning vegetables. Then cover and lower heat a bit. When pasta is cooked drain pot and put back on burner with flame off. Dump the correct portion of tomatoes from can and with a wooden spoon crush each tomato to release its liquid. Next, return your attention to the pan. Add the chickpeas and use spoon to combine with vegetables. Let everything alone for a minute and then dump the contents of the pan into the pot. Stir everything together and taste to make sure seasoning is to your liking. Voila, dinner!